29.6.15

source: anonymous

“When you feel happy, really happy, it somehow seems that you’ve
always been happy and that you’ll always be happy. The same is often
true when you feel sad, or lonely, or depressed, or broke, or sick, or
scared. Something, perhaps, to remember.”

20.6.15

When you stub a toe, miss a
train by mere seconds or send an accidental "reply-all," there's a good
chance you'll reflexively blurt out an expletive or two — and there's
no reason to feel bad about it. While spewing profanities may offend
disciples of Emily Post, it turns out that cursing is a pretty healthy
habit. Research suggests that using four-letter words to express pain
may inadvertently help alleviate it, whether we're reeling from physical
anguish or emotional upset. How fucking convenient.

If it hurts, go on and curse. Dropping f-bombs helps us withstand physical pain, according to a 2009 study
in which U.K. researchers from Keele University conducted a different
kind of ice bucket challenge. Participants had to dunk their hands in
ice water until the discomfort grew unbearable. Half of the participants
could repeat their obscenity of choice during the experiment, while the
other half had to endure the pain without letting curses fly. As
researchers predicted, the profane group lasted longer. Repeating "fuck"
and "shit," researchers believed, helped people get through pain by
distracting them from it.

As a pain management tool, cursing may do more for people who drop f-bombs sparingly. In a follow-up study,
researchers found that people who swore less on a daily basis derived
more benefit from cursing their way through unpleasant sensations.

Colorful cursing: When you're all
worked up, the same team of U.K. psychologists believe, cursing is
basically a harmless way to muster up emotional resilience. But what we
consider profanity changes as language evolves. If a word loses its
shock appeal, it probably loses its ameliorative power. It's a good
thing that we're so creative when it comes to cursing. In a study
published last year, researchers asked participants to play either an
aggressive video game or a more sedate golf game. People who played the
aggressive game, researchers found, came up with a wider variety of
obscenities on request.

"Our study found that when we raised people's emotional
arousal level they became more proficient at swearing such that they
were able to produce a greater number of different swear words and
expressions in a one-minute period," said one study author, Amy Zile, in
a statement to the British Psychological Society. "This provides
experimental support for the theory that swearing is emotional
language."

So the next time you've messed up or are feeling screwed
over, don't be afraid to let one fly -- it might just be the best thing
you can do for yourself.

18.6.15

What stories are you telling yourself
about yourself? Are they stories of curiosity, courage, action and
achievement, or stories of victimization and self pity?

Many things about you are true because you tell yourself they are true.
Many aspects of the way you live and act, think and view the world can
change by simply changing the stories you tell yourself about yourself.

You deserve a life that is full and rich. Envision the story of that life, and start repeating it to yourself.

The way you respond to life is a function of the way you see yourself
responding to life. The way you move through each day is deeply affected
by the way you imagine yourself doing so.

Think of the stories you’re telling yourself about your work, your
relationships, your priorities, your challenges and your day. Look for
opportunities to make those stories more positive and empowering.

You can tell yourself whatever stories you choose. Choose to tell
yourself stories that point you toward the best life you can experience.

This is one of those phrases where the incorrect usage actually does
make sense and has become its own phrase. But it’s still technically
wrong. In fact, most people don’t even know the correct phrase unless
they look it up (I sure didn’t). The correct version really only makes
sense if you use the entire sentence “if that’s what you think, you’ve got another think coming.”

5: Each one worse than the next vs. Each one worse than the last

Unless you can foresee the future, “each one worse than the next”
doesn’t make sense. The problem with this phrase is that it isn’t
logical. For example, you can’t compare two bicycles until you’ve tested
them both. So logically, you would compare the current bicycle to the
last bike you tested.

6: On accident vs. By accident

Sometimes I feel very sorry for people attempting to learn English.
With phrases like this, it must be awful. You can do something on
purpose, but not on accident. Prepositions are a killer.

8: For all intensive purposes vs. For all intents and purposes

You may feel very strongly and intense about your purpose, but that
doesn’t make the phrase correct. Another common incorrect use of the
phrase is switching the words “for” and “with”. The correct phrase means that you are covering all possibilities and circumstances.

9: He did good vs. He did well

The phrases good and well get interchanged so much that some people
think they are actually interchangeable words. They’re not. If you’re
ever confused about which to use, here’s a tip: Use “well” as an adverb (words used to describe verbs) and “good” as an adjective (words used to describe nouns). For example:

The dog runs well

He is a good dog

10: Extract revenge vs. Exact revenge

When you extract something, you’re taking it out of something else.
When you exact onto something, you’re dishing it out. Therefore,
extracting revenge on someone would mean you’re taking out that person’s
revenge. Exacting revenge onto them means that you’re taking your
revenge out on them.

11: Old timer’s disease vs. Alzheimer’s Disease

This one is just kind of silly. It’s really a mistake that we make
when we’re younger. As we get older and actually learn about what
Alzheimer’s Disease is, we have the sense to say the word correctly.

14: What’s your guyses opinion? vs. What’s your opinion, guys?

completely and utterly useless phrase people up north use
in the place of ya’ll. it means you guys, but they just have to be
stupid and (besides not using the much simpler phrase ya’ll) add -es to
the phrase “you guys”. As I have said many times with great wisdomosity,
ya’ll is much simplier to say.

15: Expresso vs. Espresso

I’m sure those of you who work at coffee shops have had people order
an expresso before. There’s no such drink. The drink you’re trying to
order is an espresso.

16: Momento vs. Memento

Momento isn’t a word. A memento is a keepsake.

17: Irregardless vs. Regardless

Regardless means without regard. Throwing on “IR” to the beginning makes the word a double negative. I think we can all agree that “without without regard” doesn’t make sense.

18: Sorta vs. Sort of

The phrase “sort of” was too long so someone decided to shorten it up and turn it into sorta. I think it’s just sorta lazy.

19: Conversating vs. Conversing

Drop the “on” and add an “ng” and you have yourself a new verb right?
Wrong. Conversating is an unofficial word that a lot of people use in
place of the correct term, conversing.

20: Scotch free and Scott free vs. Scot free

I’ve seen so many explanations of the origins of the phrase “Scot
free” that I really don’t know where it came from. But what I do know is
that Scotch free and Scott free are incorrect.

21: I made a complete 360 degree change in my life vs. I made a complete 180 degree change in my life

People say they’ve made a complete 360 degree change in their life to
imply that they’ve completely changed from the way they used to be.
However, going 360 degrees means that you’ve returned to the exact same
place you started. Which would mean you didn’t change at all. A 180
degree change would mean that you are the complete opposite which is
what most people are trying to say.

22: Curl up in the feeble position vs. Curl up in the fetal position

Feeble means weak and frail. So in a way, curling up in a feeble
position isn’t too far off. However, the actual fetal position that
people are referring to is the curled up position that fetuses use while
in the womb.

23: Phase vs. Faze

The word “phase” is usually used when talking about periods
of time or stages. For instance, “Bob’s interest in the iPhone 5 was
just a phase.” However, phase is often mistakenly used in place of the
word faze, which means to disrupt. Here’s a paragraph from an article
that shows the common mistake.

EAT 5:53: Uganda 2-1 Angola. Five minutes of added time, can the Cranes hang on? Cranes coach Micho Sedojevic unphased, but still urges the boys to hang on. Cranes piling the pressure

24: Hone in vs. Home in

The word hone means to sharpen or improve somehow. For example, you
can hone your speaking skills. To home in on something means to get
closer to it. “We’re homing in on a cure for cancer”.

25: Brother in laws vs. Brothers in law

If your wife or husband has several siblings, they’re called your
“brothers/sisters in law”. I’m about to get a little grammar nerdy with
my explanation so get ready. The general rule of thumb for making a
compound noun plural is to add a “s” to the noun that there’s more of.
In our case, the words brother and law are both nouns. Since the word
you’re pluralizing is brother, you add an “s” to it, not law.

9.6.15

1. This is my glabella - the area between my eyebrows. And
that is just the first of many things that you may not have known had
names, until today.2. Do you love the smell of rain? That clean
greenish aroma when rain drops hit dry ground? That's petrichor from the
Greek "Petra" meaning stone and "ichor" meaning the blood of the gods
and goddesses. The term was coined by two Australian researchers in 1964
and really became a word in 2011 when it popped up in a Doctor Who episode.3. When I get that itching and tingling sensation, that means my foot's asleep - paresthesia.4. Dysania means having difficulty getting out of bed in the morning but in my house, we call that Monday and also other days.5. Doctors are notorious for "griffonage" or illegible handwriting.6. The area between your shoulder blades that you can never scratch is called the acnestis.7. Palindromes are words or phrases that read the
same way forward or backward. Like "Mom" or "Taco Cat" or the sentence
"Marge lets Norah see Sharons telegram."8. But a Semordnilap reads one way forward,
"stressed" and another way backward, "desserts." Other examples include
diaper, parts and of course, semordnilap itself.9. Aphthongs are silent letters in words like
"knight" or "fight" or "Django." This might be something that you
already "knew." By the way, never forget 6 miles of canoeing, one
micromort.10. If your house has a neatly manicured front lawn
and an overgrown mess in the back, you've got yourself a "lawn
mullet." That's not really a word, but we're into it.11. Your "Googleganger" is the person with your name
who shows up in Google search results when you Google yourself. Like,
for me, there is a John Green who's known as one of the "Four Horsemen
of Sasquatchery." Then there's John Green the realtor who has
JohnGreen.com - my mortal enemy - and of course John Green with the
mustache.12. Fans of the television program Phineas and Ferb—which is to say humans—all know that those plastic or metal things at the end of shoelaces are called aglets.13. But you might not know that the metal thing that
holds your eraser to the end of your pencil is called a "ferrule" - not
the wild cat kind, obviously.14. When you're playing chess and every possible
move is to your disadvantage, the situation is called a zugzwang. Which
by the way, sometimes also happens when you're playing Connect Four.
Zombie Fairy is in a bit of a zugzwang right now because if she goes
over here, she's going to get attacked by Troll Face, over here by a
pirate and up here, a bunch of dogs.15. Scroop is the rustling swooshy sound that ballgowns make. More generally, its the sound produced by the movement of silk.16. That thing you use to dot a lower case i is called a tittle.17. The plastic table-like item found in the middle
of a pizza box is called a box tent and was patented in 1983. Pro Tip:
Many people in the biz now call it a pizza saver. How do I know so much
about pizza? You gotta have a forte in this world.18. Kummerspeck is a German word that refers to
excess weight gained from emotional over-eating. Its literal
translation? Grief bacon. That's another 25 cents towards the staff pork
chop party.19. If you're packing on the Kummerspeck, you might
be feeling crapulous. Though it sounds like a word invented by a
middle-schooler in the 1990's, crapulous dates back to the 1530's when
it was used to describe that gross nauseated feeling that you get from
eating or drinking too much.20. The small triangular bump on the inside corner of each eye is called the caruncula.21. The depressed area of skin under your nose and above your upper lip is called the philtrum22. And niddick is the technical term for the nape of your neck.23. Obsessive nose picking is called rhinotillexomania.24. Peladophobia is the fear of bald people. It is
most frequently suffered by balding people. Don't worry James Madison,
you die before you go bald.25. Pentheraphobia is the fear of your mother-in-law
which I don't have. I would tell you if I did. I don't. I promise, I
don't. No, what are you talking about, I do not. No. No. She's awesome.
She really is awesome actually.26. Arachibutyrophobia is a real mouthful of a word that means the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.27. Scandiknavery means deceit or trickery by
Scandinavians. Like so many 20th century words, we have James Joyce to
thank for that one. And of course, the deceitful Scandinavians.28. The indent on the bottom of wine bottle is called a punt.29. An agraffe is the wire cage that keeps the cork in a bottle of champagne.30. Barm is the foam on a beer.31. Encounter too many punts, agraffes, and barns in one night and you'll have the Zings or a peppy name for a hangover.32. Some people have started calling the cardboard
sleeve that comes wrapped around your coffee a zarf. I'm now going to be
one of those people.33. The string of typographical symbols that comic
strips use to indicate profanity is called a grawlix. *#%* yeah it is!
What are you going to do about that Mark? Oh, just bleep it?34. A word that can be its own antonym is called a
contronym. For example, cleave can mean to sever or to cling. What's
that? You need four more examples? I will provide some. Off means
deactivated, as in to turn off, but it also means activated as is in the
alarm went off. Weather can mean to withstand or come safely through or
it can mean to be worn away. If you seed your lawn, you add seeds but
if you seed a tomato, you remove them. And left can mean either
remaining or departed.35. When you're outside on a cold day and you can feel the warmth of the sun, you're experiencing a moment of apricity.36. A compulsive book thief or hoarder is a biblioklept.37. Thomas Edison had five dots, like the ones you
see on dice, tattooed on his left forearm. This pattern is properly,
although almost never, referred to as a quincunx. It is now gang
affiliated making Tommy Edison an OG.38. You probably already know the meaning of
schadenfreude but another super-specific German word 'vorfreude'
describes a kinder, less terrible feeling. The joy you feel when
thinking about good things that will happen.39. A person known by one name like Adele or Moby or
Voltaire or Madonna, is mononymous. By the way, just for the record,
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, Richard Melville Hall, Francois-Marie Arouet
and Madonna, its just Madonna.40. And let's run out the clock today with some old-timey collective nouns from James Lipton's wonderful book An Exaltation of Larks. A group of ponies is called a string.41. An assembly of ferrets is a business, and it is very serious business indeed.42. A group of jellyfish is a smack.43. Its a gam of whales.44. Murder of crows.45. Unkindness of ravens.46. Three or more goats and you've got yourself a
trip. Three or more goats yelling like humans and you've got yourself a
short-lived internet meme.47. Many owls form a parliament.48. And you might think that a group of donkeys is an ass-load but you'd be wrong. It's a pass of asses.

Étretat,
France is a small coastal town with views so perfect, it’s hard to believe
they’re real. Étretat’s population is just a little less than 2,000 people,
which means you might be the only one on the roads and hiking paths above the
ocean. There, you’ll find picture-perfect natural arches staggered along the
coastline for your snapshot-ing pleasure. They’ve served as muses for legendary
writers and artists, including Claude Monet.

2.6.15

About five years ago I lived downtown in a major city in
the US. I’ve always been a night person, so I would often find myself
bored after my roommate, who was decidedly not a night person, went to
sleep. To pass the time, I used to go for long walks and spend the time
thinking.
I spent four years like that, walking alone at night, and never once
had a reason to feel afraid. I always used to joke with my roommate that
even the drug dealers in the city were polite. But all of that changed
in just a few minutes of one evening.
It was a Wednesday, somewhere between one and two in the morning, and
I was walking near a police patrolled park quite a ways from my
apartment. It was a quiet night, even for a week night, with very little
traffic and almost no one on foot. The park, as it was most nights, was
completely empty.
I turned down a short side street in order to loop back to my
apartment when I first noticed him. At the far end of the street, on my
side, was the silhouette of a man, dancing. It was a strange dance,
similar to a waltz, but he finished each “box” with an odd forward
stride. I guess you could say he was dance-walking, headed straight for
me.
Deciding he was probably drunk, I stepped as close as I could to the
road to give him the majority of the sidewalk to pass me by. The closer
he got, the more I realized how gracefully he was moving. He was very
tall and lanky, and wearing an old suit. He danced closer still, until I
could make out his face. His eyes were open wide and wild, head tilted
back slightly, looking off at the sky. His mouth was formed in a
painfully wide cartoon of a smile. Between the eyes and the smile, I
decided to cross the street before he danced any closer.
I took my eyes off of him to cross the empty street. As I reached the
other side, I glanced back… and then stopped dead in my tracks. He had
stopped dancing and was standing with one foot in the street, perfectly
parallel to me. He was facing me but still looking skyward. Smile still
wide on his lips.
?I was completely and utterly unnerved by this. I started walking again, but kept my eyes on the man. He didn’t move.
Once I had put about half a block between us, I turned away from him
for a moment to watch the sidewalk in front of me. The street and
sidewalk ahead of me were completely empty. Still unnerved, I looked
back to where he had been standing to find him gone. For the briefest of
moments I felt relieved, until I noticed him. He had crossed the
street, and was now slightly crouched down. I couldn’t tell for sure due
to the distance and the shadows, but I was certain he was facing me. I
had looked away from him for no more than 10 seconds, so it was clear
that he had moved fast.
I was so shocked that I stood there for some time, staring at him.
And then he started moving toward me again. He took giant, exaggerated
tip toed steps, as if he were a cartoon character sneaking up on
someone. Except he was moving very, very quickly.
I’d like to say at this point I ran away or pulled out my pepper
spray or my cellphone or anything at all, but I didn’t. I just stood
there, completely frozen as the smiling man crept toward me.
And then he stopped again, about a car length away from me. Still smiling his smile, still looking to the sky.
When I finally found my voice, I blurted out the first thing that
came to mind. What I meant to ask was, “What the fuck do you want?!” in
an angry, commanding tone. What came out was a whimper, “What the fuu…?”
Regardless of whether or not humans can smell fear, they can certainly
hear it. I heard it in my own voice, and that only made me more afraid.
But he didn’t react to it at all. He just stood there, smiling.
And then, after what felt like forever, he turned around, very
slowly, and started dance-walking away. Just like that. Not wanting to
turn my back to him again, I just watched him go, until he was far
enough away to almost be out of sight. And then I realized something. He
wasn’t moving away anymore, nor was he dancing. I watched in horror as
the distant shape of him grew larger and larger. He was coming back my
way. And this time he was running.
I ran too.
I ran until I was off of the side road and back onto a better lit
road with sparse traffic. Looking behind me then, he was nowhere to be
found. The rest of the way home, I kept glancing over my shoulder,
always expecting to see his stupid smile, but he was never there.
I lived in that city for six months after that night, and I never
went out for another walk. There was something about his face that
always haunted me. He didn’t look drunk, he didn’t look high. He looked
completely and utterly insane. And that’s a very, very scary thing to
see.